


In the Meantime

by SEpupppupp (ForNought)



Series: Please Look Here [4]
Category: Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Falling out, Gen, Making Up, eungi with a g, hoeseung appears to ruin kenta's life, moody boys, sort of, woodam cries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 09:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11310117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForNought/pseuds/SEpupppupp
Summary: Kenta is running late to meet friends and maybe he should have been even later with the way things were turning out.As usual Eungi and Jungjung insist on several other people joining them on their dates.





	In the Meantime

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a bit different - in part because it is looking at things from Kenta's perspective, but mostly because I wouldn't have bothered finishing this if the wonderful [cest_what](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cest_what/pseuds/cest_what) didn't save me after offering assistance/I cried and begged for help (delete as applicable).

The only reason Kenta was late was because he forgot to set his alarm the night before. It was a weekend and he was looking forward to going out enough that he couldn’t sleep properly. After a rushed start to the day, Kenta’s bus was late and the hands on his watch were ticking too quickly past the time Kenta was supposed to meet Insoo even as he sprinted from the bus stop.

Kenta wasn’t normally late. Usually, Kenta would check and triple check that he had alarms set and his outfit laid out the evening before but a moment of laziness, or carelessness, had resulted in this. It left him feeling slightly abashed before he even noticed Insoo sitting at one of the tables outside the café they had agreed to meet at.

Insoo was sipping something fruity – perhaps mango because that was his new favourite flavour these days after graduating from both his grape phase and his peach phase – through a straw while wearing massively oversized sunglasses. The sunglasses lenses were mirrored so Kenta couldn’t be sure whether he had been seen, harried and scruffy, as he approached. The sun glinted from Insoo’s nose ring as he scrunched up his nose. Insoo had noticed him. There was no point in being shy about the fact that he was late. Kenta loudly pulled out the chair opposite Insoo and sat down heavily.

“Were you waiting long?” Kenta asked.

Insoo didn’t say anything. He only slurped harder through his straw. He spluttered a bit when Kenta reached across the table and ripped the sunglasses from his face. Insoo coughed into his sleeve and fiddled with his fringe a bit before actually looking at Kenta. The surprise on his face was exaggerated.

“Kenta-hyung! Fancy seeing you here on such a fine afternoon!”

It was still only eleven-forty-eight. Kenta rolled his eyes and Insoo pointedly snatched back his sunglasses. They had to meet the others at noon and Insoo had very enthusiastically suggested that the two of them meet up alone beforehand.

“I’m sorry,” Kenta said. Sincerely. But not sincerely enough by Insoo’s response. He blinked rapidly and tilted his head as he brought a hand to cup around his ear.

“What was that? Is that the sound of someone begging for my forgiveness?”

Insoo was pushing it but Kenta wasn’t above pushing back even further.

“Insoo-soo! Kenta-hyung is weally weally sowwy!”

Insoo scoffed and chewed at the end of his straw. “You’re disgusting, you know that.”

He was smiling though. Kenta wasn’t completely forgiven but he hadn’t expected to be. It was good enough that Insoo wasn’t even trying to hide his smile. There would be something that Kenta could do later to make things up to him. He made a heart with his hands, the beginning of his intentions, and Insoo’s hand chopped through it swiftly.

“We had better go,” Insoo said quickly as he stood up.

“Why?”

“Eungi called me about twenty minutes ago asking where we were.”

Kenta stood, tripping over the chair leg as he followed Insoo. Insoo smiled, but he didn’t laugh. He also didn’t elaborate on why Eungi would have called asking where they were almost half an hour early.

“Again, why?”

“Why, why?” Insoo mimicked.

Kenta snatched Insoo’s drink and gulped down the remainder of the mango smoothie. He got a slap on the arm for his troubles and belatedly remembered he was supposed to be making things up to Insoo. There was barely a dribble left but he could still taste the mango on his lips. He puckered his lips and leaned in a bit closer as they walked. “Sorry. Do you want to see if there is any left?”

Insoo pulled a face. “What?”

“Kiss?”

Normally Insoo would have laughed and hit Kenta’s arm or flicked him in the forehead. Instead he drifted a bit further away and the line of his shoulders rose. It was strange. He wasn’t even putting on airs of primness he normally wore when acting out being offended. Kenta was being ignored. He couldn’t work out why. It couldn’t have been the minor theft and offer of a kiss, because those were things the pair of them had done many times before. Maybe being late had been a worse infraction than Kenta realised.

Kenta threw the empty cup away when they passed a litter bin and inched closer to Insoo. They should at least get on well if Kenta was trying to apologise. Insoo didn’t reject Kenta’s arm as it linked with his so it was a start.

“So why did Eungi call you earlier?”

“Oh, that. We arranged to meet earlier because apparently Eungi has a family thing later or something.”

“And nobody told me?” Kenta asked.

“I did just now,” Insoo said, starting to smile. He was biting his lips against the stretching of his mouth but he was undoubtedly starting to smile. Kenta was not.

He was smiling even less upon finding out that they were all supposed to meet at eleven o’clock. It was bad enough that Kenta was late when he thought they were meeting at noon. It turned out he was disastrously late now. At least Insoo was smiling about something. 

Kenta tightened his grip on Insoo’s arm and pinched him for good measure.

“That hurt,” Insoo grumbled.

“It was supposed to. Why didn’t you tell me before?” Kenta asked.

“I thought it would be funny.”

“Was it?”

“Absolutely.” Kenta pinched him again. “Ow! That was even harder than before!”

“You deserve it,” Kenta said. There was no need for him to be sorry now, even if Insoo kept squirming into the path of other people and complaining that they were being a nuisance to others. Insoo was already a massive nuisance to Kenta so it was only fair that other people would suffer because of him. Kenta only stopped when they had to cross a road. Even Kenta wouldn’t kill a friend just because of something like not passing on a message.

Insoo, however, was convinced that an attempt had been made on his life. Kenta stopped the pinching altogether but Insoo didn’t stop whining about how the car that stopped when the traffic lights changed had almost killed him. It hadn’t come close to killing him. He had almost done the deed himself when he flinched away from Kenta raising his arm to check his watch and nearly fell into the road. The story he told Eungi, when they finally met up at the seating at the shopping centre, was entirely different.

“You were an hour late because Kenta-hyung pushed you into the path of a moving vehicle?” Eungi repeated slowly. He didn’t look at all impressed with Insoo’s story. It might have been because he believed that Kenta was the wonderful, responsible, caring man that he was, or it could have been because he had been made to wait for an hour. Eungi sent Jungjung a look filled with his distaste at the situation. Jungjung returned the look with a sympathetic nod. Insoo moved on. Insoo skirted past Jaechan who liked to be the subject of fussing and clucking rather than lavishing that attention on others. He didn’t even bother with Hyunmin who was very occupied with his phone.

Woodam, eyes wide and hands clutched together fretfully as he stared up from the space beside Hyunmin, looked a lot more inclined to fuss over Insoo’s near-death experience. Even Kenta could see how Insoo zeroed in on the furrow in Woodam’s brows. Woodam alternated between clutching Insoo’s arm and hugging him.

“Why did you try to kill Insoo-hyung?” Jaechan asked. He was sitting beside Eungi and Jungjung on the bench and prodding Kenta in the leg.

“Because it is what we all want deep down,” Kenta said solemnly. Eungi didn’t bring his hand to his mouth quick enough to hide his grin.

“Is it true? Hong Eungi wants me dead too?” Insoo called from Woodam’s arms.

“It’s true,” Jaechan confirmed.

“It’s not true,” Woodam said stalwartly as he pulled Insoo even closer and started genuinely allaying Insoo’s very fake fears about his friends wanting him dead.

Kenta sat on Hyunmin’s other side and tried to ignore the racket that Woodam and Insoo were making.

“Hyung,” Eungi said, his voice lilting as he leaned forwards. Jungjung moved with him, their linked hands apparently tethering every one of their movements together in this strange assault on Kenta’s guilt. “Why were you late?”

“I’m sorry,” Kenta said. “I didn’t set my alarm.”

He left out the part about Insoo not informing him of the change in plans because he was a better friend than Insoo deserved. Eungi didn’t look like it was the answer he wanted as he pulled a face and adjusted the grip of his hand in Jungjung’s. Kenta could have been petty and told Eungi but it wouldn’t have made a difference. They were late and there wasn’t anything that would change that.

“Whatever. We still have around forty minutes before the next showing of Wonder Woman seeing as we missed two showings waiting for you,” Eungi said breezily.

“In the meantime, what shall –”

Jungjung never got to finish his question. Or he did and Insoo’s outburst drowned out the sound perfectly.

“That is not happening! We are not going to watch Wonder Woman for the millionth time.”

Woodam released Insoo quickly, his face hardening in an instant before his expression cracked and crumpled. His voice was already thick and stalling when he said, “What do you mean?”

Insoo’s eyes boggled. Already this wasn’t looking good. Hyunmin had even looked up from his phone in interest. Kenta, on the other hand, looked away. He really didn’t need to see Woodam’s face twisting in some heart-broken pain as Insoo stood over him stubbornly.

“What do you think it means? You dragged me out of bed for this? I could be doing something useful with my time –”

“Like sleeping,” Eungi interrupted drily.

“– Instead of watching Wonder Woman for the fiftieth time.”

It would be the third time rather than the fiftieth time, but Kenta found himself agreeing with Insoo. He had enjoyed Wonder Woman the first time – it was a brilliant film – and he had enjoyed it the second time too and found himself catching bits of subtitles that he had missed the first time, but watching the same film for a third time in a row would definitely get boring.

It probably didn’t help that because of Insoo’s occasionally unacceptable behaviour there weren’t too many places that the group could go when they wanted to be indoors in the safety of air conditioning. Out of the places that they did find themselves, the cinema’s air conditioning was reliable and they had an excuse to sit down and not do anything for a few hours.

Kenta didn’t think Woodam was sobbing in the middle of the shopping centre because of the air conditioning. Hyunmin finally put his phone away and tugged at Jaechan’s arm until he understood that they were about to go on a very important mission to make Woodam stop crying so loudly. Eungi was already attempting damage control as he beckoned Woodam to sit in the space he had created between himself and Jungjung. Woodam gratefully collapsed into the Woodam-sized gap.

Insoo heavily plonked himself beside Kenta and huffed. He didn’t look at all sorry as Jungjung kept murmuring platitudes to Woodam about how Insoo absolutely did not mean what he said.

“I meant it,” Insoo said insolently, slouching into Kenta’s side. Kenta thumped Insoo’s leg, because Insoo deserved at least that much.

“What was that for?”

“Are you serious?”

Insoo didn’t even consider Kenta’s question, though that was likely because he wasn’t completely stupid. He knew exactly why Kenta was hitting him, despite his nonchalance as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I won’t apologise,” Insoo said with a defiant tilt to his chin. He was making it very difficult to side with him. Even if Kenta didn’t want to watch the same film for the third time, he wasn’t about to reject the plan so vehemently in light of The Incident which everybody knew had left Woodam even more delicate than usual.

Woodam’s sensibilities were delicate in the first place, but it was Sistar’s disbandment that prompted the second viewing of Wonder Woman – Woodam’s current favourite film – in 3D, so that he had something else to think about. Kenta remembered how difficult that day had been, attempting to navigate through the streets and the shopping centre in a way that they could avoid anywhere playing Sistar songs. It was a relief that the opening notes of Touch My Body were no longer enough to set off Woodam’s tear ducts, but what was the point when Insoo was so unapologetic about doing exactly that.

“You will apologise,” Eungi said, impervious to retort, as he mopped at Woodam’s face with tissues. Jungjung was sitting on Woodam’s other side, practically cradling him into his chest. It was impressive that they were such wonderful parents to Woodam at a time like this. Kenta thought it was sweet. He also thought it was about time Woodam stopped crying considering each sob that permeated the air made Insoo’s expression darken. It was alright for Woodam, being coddled so carefully, when he wasn’t the one within reach of Insoo’s quickly whitening knuckles.

Kenta gently prodded at Insoo’s fist. It loosened slightly, but Kenta still felt he was at risk of getting (accidentally-on-purpose) punched. Insoo might even drop the ‘accidental’ part of any punches going Kenta’s way in some misguided sense of retribution. Kenta edged away but found himself trapped as Insoo slung his legs over Kenta’s lap.

Apparently Insoo wasn’t privy to the very real fear in Kenta’s heart as he glared at Eungi and said, “I won’t.”

“Please,” Kenta muttered. Insoo knocked his knees into Kenta’s chest as though Kenta’s plea was to be trapped more thoroughly.

“Don’t you think Hong Eungi is much too mean to me now that he has a boyfriend?”

“Why are you saying his name like that?”

“Yes, why are you saying my name like that?” Eungi asked as he absently rubbed Woodam’s shoulder.

Insoo huffed and pretended Eungi hadn’t said a thing. His expression darkened some when Hyunmin and Jaechan rushed over while clutching various cans retrieved from a nearby vending machine. They both struggled as they deposited their haul in Insoo’s lap. Hyunmin’s expression looked devious and there was no way that the action wasn’t intentional. Kenta was counting his blessings that Insoo had trapped him underneath his legs, and unwittingly protected Kenta’s more precious legs from the hail of cans that had tumbled into Insoo’s lap and rolled away on the ground.

Jaechan quickly picked up a can of Fanta and passed it to Woodam sweetly. “Hyung, I bet you can’t drink this can all in one go!”

Woodam accepted the can and maybe thanked Jaechan but it was very difficult to tell from the stuffiness of his voice and the fact that Hyunmin was crying out in pain far too close to Kenta’s ears. Insoo was incriminatingly holding his fist aloft. Though the start to the day had been rushed and frantic, Kenta was finding that his luck was turning and he wasn’t the first casualty of Insoo’s petulance.

Eungi seemed a lot less pleased for Kenta and a lot more annoyed at Insoo. “Hyung,” He said warningly.

Insoo only seethed and gently rubbed at his thighs. It could have been to check the bruising from the drinks cans, but Kenta thought it was partly because he wanted people to look at his legs. He wore shorts far too often for that to not be the case. Kenta patted his leg sympathetically and rolled his eyes as Hyunmin clutched at his arm and dramatically limped over to Eungi.

“Hyung, what was the point in doing that to my poor piggy?” Eungi said in some terrible approximation of baby-talk. Woodam was shocked out of his tears by how quickly he had been abandoned in favour of Hyunmin who was really hamming up his alleged injury.

“I’m not a pig, Hyung,” Hyunmin insisted with a weak voice as he collapsed into Eungi’s chest. “Pigs don’t have as many feelings as I do.”

“What are we going to do with you, piggy Hyunminnie?” Eungi cooed as he hugged Hyunmin even tighter.

Hyunmin was still whinging about how being called a pig hurt almost as much as Insoo’s vicious assault when Jaechan started picking through the cans on the floor. He held one out to Jungjung with a smile. “Cola?”

Jungjung blinked himself out of glaring at Eungi for long enough to graciously accept the can of cola from Jaechan before he returned to trying to make Hyunmin’s head explode with his eyes. That was what Kenta assumed was happening because Jungjung tended to wear this particularly incensed expression whenever Hyunmin was within arm’s reach of Eungi. It was a sad part of life and Kenta wondered whether Hyunmin knew the effect he had. He could assume Eungi didn’t have a clue because he had proven to be particularly dense about things like this.

“Are you going to have your drink, Wonder Woodam?” Jaechan asked with the sort of smile that was reassuringly sweet. Woodam had finally stopped crying and the aggravation on Insoo’s face had finally subsided. He must have expended some of his annoyance when he hit Hyunmin. It was a shame that the negativity had manifested in at least the same amount in Jungjung.

At least Jungjung possessed a modicum of sense and was trying to disguise his displeasure. He was putting a lot of effort into not looking annoyed and even cheerily shook Woodam’s shoulder and said, “Wonder Woodam? That is so cute!” before returning to glaring at Hyunmin. Hyunmin must have been immune somehow because he settled even more comfortably in Eungi’s embrace.

Kenta wished he had whatever immunity Hyunmin was blessed with. He felt his soul wither from the glare Insoo was sending his way.

“What?” Kenta asked casually.

“I’m thirsty,” Insoo pouted.

“Me too.”

“I’m injured. Can’t you get me a drink?” Insoo asked. He wasn’t cute at all. Kenta pointedly looked down at Insoo’s legs and then back up at Insoo’s face. With altogether too much huffing, Insoo moved his legs but held his arm out to stop Kenta from moving – not that Kenta had even started to move from his seat. Insoo’s voice was cautious as he said something about mouths and Kenta’s legs were wet from Jaechan spitting his drink out all over them.

Jaechan apologised hurriedly and dabbed with his T-shirt at the droplets rubbing down Kenta’s legs but Kenta waved him off with half a smile. He was more concerned with what Insoo said – or what he thought Insoo had said. Hyunmin was covering his face with his hands and Eungi was frowning at Kenta. The only person whose face looked as blank as Kenta’s mind was Jungjung. It was nice not to be the only person left out, but considering Jungjung’s recent grasp of Korean began and ended with ‘I love you, Eungi,’ it wasn’t that great of a comfort.

Kenta looked back to the suspicion on Insoo’s face. Kenta didn’t want to answer the question because, though he was mostly certain about what he had heard, there was a very real possibility that he wasn’t understanding at all. He very eloquently said, “What?”

Insoo repeated himself. This time more simply and with helpful gestures. “You won’t do anything strange,” Insoo said, pulling a hideous face and waving his arms about vaguely before crossing his arms into an X. “I will not drink from your mouth.” He accompanied this by pointing at Kenta’s lips and his own before miming taking a drink. And another X with his arms.

Kenta nodded. He had understood the first time. He said, “That was a joke.”

Insoo was still regarding Kenta with an excessive level of suspicion until watery-voiced Woodam said, “Are you talking about kissing?”

“Ah, who is going to cover poor Jaechannie’s eyes if they’re talking about kissing?” Hyunmin asked feebly from Eungi’s lap.

“If they’re _talking_ , shouldn’t someone cover my _ears_?” Jaechan asked, much less feebly.

“We’re not talking about kissing,” Kenta said.

“It certainly sounds like you are,” Eungi said. His tone wasn’t accusing but Kenta felt like he was being made to feel guilty about something. A small part of him wondered whether Eungi would feel guilty if any sort of accusation like that was made against him – if he heard that somebody else was left out of the loop and only wondering about things without having anything confirmed.

“We’re not,” Kenta said. He looked to Insoo for support and got a noncommittal shrug in return. It didn’t matter anyway. Kenta picked up a can from beside Jaechan and very deliberately passed it to Insoo. It was time to change the subject away from such a glaring non-issue. “Insoo, if you don’t want to see Wonder Woman again, then what do you want to do?”

“Literally anything else. It is a waste of money to keep seeing the same film. If you want to see it so badly, wait for it to come out on Blu Ray or search for it on the internet,” Insoo huffed.

“I’ll pay for you,” Woodam offered through a delicate sniff.

Insoo’s gaze flickered up but he shrugged his shoulders and huffed again. “So I’ll be wasting your money instead of mine? That is even worse.”

“You can waste your money on me if you’d like, Hyung,” Jaechan suggested to Woodam. Woodam smiled so at least he took it as a joke. Insoo turned to Kenta just to roll his eyes.

Already today, Kenta was having trouble trying to work out why Insoo was doing or saying things. The look on his face was a bit different to a poorly thought out joke but it was unfortunately similar to his obvious dissatisfaction with everything back when he had fallen out with Sangbin.

Usually Kenta had an idea of what Insoo was thinking when he was sulking and moping. He was a predictable sort of guy who had bouts of good-nature between streaks of being an annoyance to everyone around him. And regardless of his mood, Kenta could meet Insoo’s eyes and know where the jokes were and where to push and what to leave. But Insoo was being insensitive with no reason.

It wasn’t unusual for Insoo to bicker with Woodam, but not usually to the point of tears and most certainly not with so much of an audience. Woodam was free with his tears but Insoo was free with a conscience. After the first few times Kenta had seen Insoo go too far, Insoo had worked out well enough when he should give things a rest.

Today already he had pushed too far without care and even now he was looking at Kenta and Kenta didn’t know what he was supposed to do or say in response.

He averted his eyes and smiled tightly at Eungi. Then the rest of the group. “Any other ideas?”

Insoo didn’t even seem happy with that and he huffed and kicked his heels on the floor a few times. He was being more obvious about his displeasure but there wasn’t anything Kenta could think of to fix that. He had assumed by now that he, Insoo and Eungi knew each other well enough to be able to steer things in the right direction when one them wasn’t happy. But Kenta was clueless and Eungi didn’t look inclined to even try. He was too happy pinching Hyunmin’s cheeks and ignoring Jungjung’s increasingly distressed expression.

Jaechan looked around the group, rolling a can between his hands while nobody else said anything. Jaechan caught Kenta’s eye and said, “I’m getting hungry.”

Kenta could get on board with the idea of a meal. Getting something to eat might lift the strange mood of the group. Kenta had never seen Insoo in a bad mood when he was eating and he was never too difficult to understand with a full stomach. Kenta was going to do his best to put this idea in motion. “What shall we eat?”

Eungi looked thoughtful for a moment and with a wide grin he rested his chin on Hyunmin’s shoulder. “I am in the mood for Samgyeopsal.”

Hyunmin could have been glaring if his face wasn’t so content. His voice sounded petulant enough when he grumbled, “Ah, Hyung, I hope you aren’t saying that holding me reminded you of eating a pig.”

Eungi paid that no mind and pinched Hyunmin’s cheeks with vigour. Hyunmin’s subsequent squeal was not unlike a pig’s and Jungjung looked the most miserable Kenta had ever seen him. Eungi appeared to be ignoring a lot of things today.

“I’d rather eat Chinese,” Insoo muttered. Kenta glanced at him and wondered whether he was supposed to respond to this. Nobody had made a decision yet as they were still coming up with ideas – or Eungi was still playing with Hyunmin.

Insoo might become moodier if nobody said anything, so Kenta hoped he didn’t sound too inflammatory when he asked, “Why?”

Insoo sat up a bit straighter and didn’t raise his voice above a mumble as he said, “In a Chinese restaurant we can sit at a huge, round table and everybody can keep their distance from me.”

“Why are you being like this?” Kenta asked just as quietly. Jaechan could quite clearly hear them and, though he was crouched on the floor facing Hyunmin, he glanced over his shoulder warily. Kenta didn’t blame him because already Hyunmin had been a victim of Insoo’s wrath and Kenta saw a similar fate in his own future.

That future looked to be coming quicker than Kenta thought, judging by Insoo’s face. He looked away. “Why are _you_ being like this, Hyung?” Insoo asked.

Kenta didn’t understand. He wasn’t acting strangely. Not that he could think of. Insoo was the only one being strange. If Insoo thought Kenta was also acting strangely, there was no way for Kenta to understand how that could be if he wasn’t told.

“Have I done something wrong?”

Insoo shrugged. He was doing a lot of that today. Kenta didn’t understand how nobody else was questioning this.

Kenta wanted to give up talking to Insoo for a while. He wanted to let Insoo sulk for a while and try talking again when it was less tiring. But Kenta hated the idea of other people thinking it was tiring to talk to him. Kenta had found it difficult to make sense of people in the past and he was sure that Insoo and Eungi had both found him difficult and tiring many times. Until now they had both tried their best with Kenta. It was only fair that he returned the favour.

Kenta reached for Insoo’s hand. Insoo flinched, but aside from that he didn’t move his hand away from the touch.

“I would like it if you could be happy.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Insoo asked.

Kenta couldn’t say what he meant any plainer than that. He wanted Insoo to be able to smile and enjoy a day with friends. Friends who were all standing and pointing to wherever they were headed next while Kenta struggled with what he was supposed to say next.

“You know that we love you, Insoo,” Kenta said before standing up. Insoo’s arm came along as Kenta stood and it was nice that Insoo was maintaining the grasp. Kenta swung their arms and bit and tugged enough to make Insoo stand up.

“I know, Hyung,” Insoo said. It wasn’t quite right. His mouth wasn’t making the right shape and his voice wasn’t making the right sound, but it was the best Kenta was going to get. 

 

*          *          *

 

“What is Eungi’s problem?” Insoo asked as they left the restaurant. He stretched his arms above his head and slung an arm over Kenta’s shoulders. The sunglasses were back on Insoo’s face and he seemed to be in much higher spirits after he had quietly chewed and chewed and ignored all the conversation taking place around him.

“Do you feel better now?” Kenta asked. Insoo raised his eyebrows and fixed his eyes forwards as they walked, swaying slightly together because Insoo wasn’t inclined to carry too much of his own weight.

“I don’t know what you mean by that,” Insoo said lightly. He tilted his head in the direction of Jungjung and Woodam who were arm in arm. Jungjung wasn’t even looking around brightly for Eungi who was almost always within his orbit. It was an insignificant detail that Eungi was holding hands with Hyunmin and Jaechan and merrily swinging their arms. Insoo squeezed Kenta’s shoulders tighter. “Things are strange today.”

“You’re right. It isn’t just you being weird,” Kenta agreed. Insoo shoved him lightly but he was grinning and he pulled Kenta back just as quickly as he had pushed him away.

“What should we do?” Insoo asked. His forehead was wrinkled with genuine concern and Kenta didn’t feel much differently. There probably wasn’t much that anybody could do. If Eungi and Jungjung had fallen out it was up to them to deal with it themselves. Their romantic problems weren’t the primary concern of everyone who happened to exist around them. But Kenta loved Eungi to pieces so of course he wanted to know everything and make sure all was well with his friend.

“We need to get Eungi to talk,” Kenta said as decisively as he could. Eungi wasn’t too far ahead of them, practically skipping with Hyunmin and Jaechan. Eungi had strangely good hearing for a person who liked to ignore everything around him. Kenta didn’t want to risk being overheard so he slowed his pace and Insoo whined exaggeratedly as he pulled too far.

Insoo jabbed Kenta in the ribs. “That’s a good idea.”

Kenta was glad Insoo thought so because he eventually planned to make Insoo talk too. Kenta didn’t have a clue how to get either of them to talk.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Kenta could concentrate on making a plan and he didn’t have to pretend to be pleased about seeing Yoo Hoeseung approaching with his arms spread wide.

“What do we have here?” Hoeseung asked loudly.

Woodam certainly looked happy as he dragged Jungjung over into a group hug with Hoeseung.

Hoeseung smiled in that strange way that was simultaneously charming and greasy as he greeted everyone with hugs that looked a little bit too tight. Until he reached Kenta and all but tugged him into a headlock.

“Kenta, my love, those are some interesting shoes you are wearing,” Hoeseung said, his voice level despite Kenta struggling against him.

“There is nothing wrong with my shoes,” Kenta grunted as he tried to prise Hoeseung’s arms from around his neck. His shoes were just canvas shoes. They weren’t even brightly coloured or anything. Just black shoes that Hoeseung felt the need to comment on. Kenta was still trapped so he stomped on one of Hoeseung’s equally plain shoe-clad feet. Hoeseung lightly kicked at his shin before releasing him.

Hoeseung didn’t look bad. He never did. He always made just enough effort that Kenta was impressed that Hoeseung could look so nice, but Kenta made a point of not mentioning it. He didn’t care about what Hoeseung was wearing.

Kenta was still trying to straighten out his neckline when Insoo’s hand came to rest heavily on his shoulder. He had removed his sunglasses and was chewing at one of the arms absently as he squinted at Hoeseung and said, “Are you trying to start a fight?”

“With you?” Hoeseung asked lightly. He opened his arms and Hyunmin took that as an invitation to attach himself to Hoeseung’s torso. There was a fond smile at Hoeseung’s mouth as he ruffled Hyunmin’s hair. He winked at Insoo. “Of course I am.”

“It’s not going to work,” Insoo insisted loudly. “I don’t like Kenta-hyung to the point that I will fight you over him.”

Hoeseung laughed, loud and full as he squeezed Hyunmin closer. “So I get to keep Kenta too?”

“That’s not what I said,” Insoo frowned. He looked at Kenta and Kenta looked back to see the obvious confusion in Insoo’s face. It wasn’t up to Kenta to parse that. He was just out to have a good time with some friends and not with Yoo Hoeseung who was his deadly enemy.

“We have to leave right now,” Kenta said, pulling Insoo’s wrist. Insoo came easily and it was only when they tried to pass Woodam that they were stopped by a reproachful stare.

“Where are you going?”

_Away from Hoeseung_ was probably not the reply that Woodam wanted so Kenta looked to Insoo for some assistance.

“Away from Hoeseung,” Insoo said. Woodam’s lower lip jutted out further and his forehead crumpled sadly enough that Jungjung started searching people’s pockets for tissues. Neither Jaechan nor Kenta appreciated that very much.

“Why?” Woodam whined. “I love Hoeseung.”

Insoo slipped through Kenta’s grip so that instead of his wrist being held tight, Kenta was holding his hand more securely. Insoo jerked his chin defiantly. “Nobody is telling you to leave. It is just us.”

“Why?” Jaechan asked from behind Kenta.

Insoo whirled around to face Jaechan and said, “Because we hate him. Obviously.”

“You hate me?” Hoeseung asked, not sounding particularly bothered by the statement.

“We don’t hate you,” Kenta said.

“I hate you,” Insoo said. He widened his eyes significantly at Kenta. Eating definitely agreed with Insoo. Kenta could finally understand something that Insoo wasn’t bothering to tell him. Kenta looked at Hoeseung.

“I hate you too,” he said.

Hoeseung mimed his heart breaking and Hyunmin was very dramatic about sobbing over Hoeseung’s dying form.

“Why are you all talking nonsense?” Eungi asked sternly.

“I’d forgotten you were here,” Insoo said bravely. Eungi narrowed his eyes and Insoo didn’t even shrink a little bit.

Kenta had almost forgotten about Eungi’s presence too. He wasn’t where he was supposed to be, innocuously flirting with Jungjung or playfully shoving at Insoo’s shoulder, but the gaps where Eungi should have been had already been clogged with the unease that had been building in Kenta’s head enough that he had trouble sleeping at night.

Kenta extended his hand and Eungi regarded it suspiciously for a moment. Kenta held his hand out more insistently and Eungi rolled his eyes, like he was doing Kenta a favour (which he was), and threaded his fingers between Kenta’s.

“The both of you are acting strangely,” Eungi said quietly when Kenta pulled him closer.

“You too,” Kenta said. Eungi frowned a bit at that but he didn’t deny it.

“You’re not really leaving, are you?” Eungi asked.

He looked like he was genuinely worried, which was strange considering he had spent the majority of the day so far ignoring Kenta and Insoo. Despite sitting next to them in the restaurant he had been more concerned with feeding Hyunmin parcels of pork and cooing about what a cute kid he was.

But he was finally with them as they walked towards the cinema now, and it was alright that he looked uncertain about the whole thing. 

“We’re not leaving,” Kenta confirmed. This looked like news to Insoo even though they were clearly following the rest of the pack towards the cinema.

“Why?” Insoo asked. “We’re not going to the cinema are we? With him?”

“I think I can hear Lee Insoo speaking about me rudely,” Hoeseung called over his shoulder. Hyunmin even shot a glare back at Insoo who muttered something under his breath.  

“The plan didn’t change because of your tantrum, Hyung,” Eungi said sardonically as he gestured to Woodam, who had something of a skip in his step between Jaechan and Jungjung. 

“Tantrum?” Insoo squawked loudly.

Kenta smiled for a moment because Eungi was laughing but he didn’t really know what they were talking about. He had to interrupt Insoo’s monologue to ask, “What is dandrom?”

“Tan-trum, tan-trum,” Insoo said with exaggerated enunciation.

“Tantrum,” Kenta repeated until Insoo seemed happy with his pronunciation. He got a wink and a thumbs up for his trouble but Kenta wasn’t quite as happy to leave the conversation in the same place as Insoo was. “So what is a tantrum?”

“It is something kids do when they don’t get their way,” Eungi explained helpfully. “Or it is what Insoo-hyung does when he wants to remind us that he is a massive baby.”

Insoo went on at length, presumably explaining why he was not a massive baby, but Kenta wasn’t really listening. It was almost normal. This was almost how things usually were aside from the fact that Kenta could feel how the differences had seeped between them. There was something in the pressure of Eungi and Insoo’s hands around his own, and the change in tempo.

He tried not to think about it too deeply, because this should have been good enough, but he couldn’t help being conscious of how the group shuffled when it was time to sit down to watch the film after the tickets and popcorn had been bought.

Somehow Eungi had reattached himself to Jungjung and it was easy to see how their blissful bubble rebuffed approach as their smiles inflated. Insoo was at the other end of the row, sullenly shoving handfuls of popcorn into his mouth and occasionally attempting to take selfies in the light of the trailers playing on screen while ignoring whatever Woodam was trying to say to him. Kenta was in the middle of the row between Jaechan and Hoeseung and trying to ignore the reproachful glances coming from Hyunmin who was the unlucky soul stuck trying to lean out of Jungjung’s orbit.

“This is almost like a date,” Hoeseung said in a low voice. He was grinning as he leaned away from Kenta’s ear.

“I’m glad you’re not my boyfriend if this is what you think a date is supposed to be.”

“Say that a bit louder,” Hoeseung said. “The two over there might have something to say about you insulting their relationship.”

Kenta wasn’t sure whether to understand what that was supposed to mean. He waited until it was quiet – the end of the trailer for Spiderman – and leaned a bit closer to Hoeseung. “What did you say?”

“Did you not hear me? Or did you not understand me?” Hoeseung asked.

Those terms could be used interchangeably. He wasn’t sure which it was himself. He was sure he had understood but he felt as though he didn’t quite understand it properly, and maybe there was a syllable here and there that he had missed. It was happening more and more often these days. Kenta thought it was because he wasn’t sleeping as well as he used to and his mind was too tired to keep up. Strangely enough, sitting in the dark, even with all the noise and brightness from the cinema screen, Kenta wanted to sleep.

He was tired. He was lazy. So he shrugged. Hoeseung laughed and leaned across the armrest. “When Eungi and Jungjung started going out with each other, wasn’t it like this?”

The question wasn’t worth as much effort as Hoeseung was putting into asking it. Kenta laughed, for a lack of any other response, and looked at the screen. Hoeseung didn’t say anything else to Kenta after that. Kenta was glad. Jaechan hated people talking through films so Kenta couldn’t get into trouble that way. Most people would be some approximation of happy.

Kenta assumed he was one of the moderately happy people right up until he jolted awake to see the screen aflame and all sorts of special effects contributing to the climax of the film. But the screen was at a funny angle and Kenta’s head was resting on Hoeseung’s shoulder. Of course Hoeseung was smirking and no amount of Kenta awkwardly shuffling away in his seat would change that. It was already too late.

“Should we make this our first day?” Hoeseung asked.

“I don’t know what that means,” Kenta mumbled. He didn’t know whether Hoeseung had heard but Jaechan shushed him loudly. Kenta looked past Hoeseung to the end of the row where he could see Insoo glaring at Woodam from the corner of his eye. Woodam was shaking his head and covering his face with his hands as though he was surprised and all of the action onscreen was new to him.

It was cute in a way. At least Woodam got his wish. Maybe he would cheer up a bit more now that he had seen Wonder Woman again. Woodam had probably seen the film more than three times. Kenta would have to try to ask Jo Yonggeun how many times he had been dragged along to see Wonder Woman and do some maths.

Even as the film ended, Woodam was looking at the rest of the group looking for all the world as though he was experiencing something amazing for the first time.

“Wow! Can you believe how good that was?” Woodam asked.

“I can believe it,” Insoo said flatly. “I have believed it every time you forced me to watch this film.”

Woodam’s spirits weren’t dampened in the slightest. His eyes were bright and he pulled Hyunmin and Jaechan close and hugged them in the middle of the cinema foyer.

“Kids, wasn’t this such a fantastic day?”

“You have already cried, multiple times,” Insoo said. Eungi shoved his shoulder and grinned at Kenta. Almost, almost. But Eungi was irrevocably attached to Jungjung, their hands tethered tightly and their eyes meeting more often than they met the gazes of other people.

Jungjung pouted slightly and Eungi twirled into his arms with a soft smile on his lips. Kenta would have liked to be able to ask why they bothered inviting everybody else. Things like this would be better if Eungi and Jungjung could have their dates separately without their most minor whims dictating the configuration of the group. If that was so, maybe Kenta and Insoo could have Eungi all to themselves from time to time.

“Shouldn’t we all go out to sit in the sun?” Woodam asked, apparently unperturbed by Insoo’s commentary. Eungi hesitated, and Kenta hoped that whatever he was looking for in Jungjung’s face wouldn’t sway his decision.

“It will be fun,” Kenta agreed. Eungi looked surprised. Kenta wondered how desperate he looked. Desperate enough for Eungi to consider.

“I will need to leave early to meet my family for dinner,” Eungi said.

Kenta had forgotten about the plans changing because Eungi had an engagement later that day. He glared at Insoo, but that didn’t make a difference. Jaechan was hanging off Woodam’s arm and complaining about being thirsty as they led the way to the paved area outside of the shopping centre.

There were stone benches around an ornamental fountain and Kenta was doubting the logic behind choosing this place to sit. He worried about Woodam because no sane person would think that any group that Hoeseung, Insoo, and Jaechan were a part of could exist around a water fountain without somebody getting soaked.

Kenta didn’t count on him being the person getting soaked.

He felt stunned as he sat up, wiping the water out of his eyes. The water smelled a bit like moss and it wasn’t as warm as he had assumed it would be as it glittered under the summer sun.

“Ah, Hyung,” Jaechan said hesitantly, still balancing on the ledge around the fountain. Kenta had been sitting innocently, taking a selfie with a cute filter, when Jaechan’s hands had landed on his shoulders to keep steady and he ultimately ended up toppling into the water. Jaechan crawled to his knees and reached his arm out as far as he could. “I am very sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Kenta said. “What happened to my phone.”

“Here, it’s here!” Hyunmin said, plucking it from the thankfully dry ground next to the fountain.

“Thank you,” Kenta said. It might have been better if his phone had been submerged in water. He had been taking a video on the Snow App when the fall happened and he was aware that he had made a strange sound as he fell. A sound that was currently playing over and over through the tinny speakers of his phone.

“Sorry,” Hyunmin said, not doing anything to make the sound stop. Kenta wanted to take back his gratitude.

“Are you going to take my hand, Hyung?” Jaechan asked uncertainly.

“Quickly, somebody help Kenta before he catches a cold!” Woodam said, arms flapping as he panicked. Jaechan looked between his outstretched hand and Woodam, and Kenta also wondered what it was that Woodam was missing. Aside from the fact that Kenta didn’t feel much like exerting any effort.

“It’s Summer, Hyung,” Eungi observed dryly.

“Would you like me to carry you out like a princess?” Hoeseung asked, taking off his shoes and rolling off his socks slowly. He wriggled his toes in Kenta’s direction and that was a sure sign that he shouldn’t be the person to help.

“I want Hong Eungi to help me,” Kenta said. It sounded childish, how he was almost waist deep in water and pouting. Eungi had a dazed expression as he twisted around on the ledge to look at Kenta. Kenta tried not to feel offended that Eungi only turned at the sound of his name, and not when Kenta had fallen into the fountain. It was harder not to feel offended when Eungi responded.

“Hyung, I can’t get wet. I need to meet my family after this.”

Jungjung patted Eungi’s shoulder sympathetically. Eungi wasn’t the one who had been unceremoniously shoved into a water fountain. The refusal to help was one thing, but there was something unapologetic about the way Eungi was looking down at Kenta.

It was alright for everybody else. They didn’t have Hoeseung encroaching with big, splashing kicks that were doing a good job at ensuring Kenta was completely sodden. It was alright for Eungi who seemed only to do the bare minimum these days.

Until Eungi was splashing around and gasping loudly until he sat up. Eungi’s surprise at being pushed into the fountain beside Kenta was writ across his face. Insoo stared down at his hands as though he had any right to be shocked about what he had done while Jungjung hopped from foot to foot and flapped himself and Woodam into a more frenzied panic.

Hyunmin placed a hand on Jaechan’s shoulder. “You’ve just been saved.”

Jaechan might have been saved, but not too many other people had been. Jungjung had opted for skipping through the fountain to help, only to stumble backwards when Eungi slapped his hands away. Kenta didn’t mind the glaring. It was something to distract him from the fact that Hoeseung was still kicking water over him. He quite liked the amount of focus that was on him at that moment.

“You’re going to keep staring at your hyung like that?” Kenta asked, barely concealing his grin. Eungi’s glare deepened and Kenta shivered.

Hoeseung’s hands slid underneath Kenta’s arms and it seemed like he was going to attempt to be helpful for once.

“Don’t touch him,” Eungi shouted. Hoeseung dropped Kenta back in the water again and Eungi’s lip twitched only slightly. “I will keep staring at you like this, Hyung. Someone bring Lee Insoo over so I can stare at him too.”

It was strange to see Jungjung looking imploringly at Insoo and quietly apologising to Woodam as he lifted Insoo from the ground and into the fountain. Insoo was yelling and flailing as hard as he could but still nothing about his fate was changing. He stopped making a fuss as soon as Jungjung delicately placed him on his feet in the fountain.

“Push him,” Eungi ordered coldly.

Jungjung smiled sadly before placing his hands on Insoo’s chest and shoving him. Insoo hollered as his arms windmilled, and it seemed he would keep his footing. Kenta sighed. He kicked one of Insoo’s shins and he finally toppled into the fountain. He splashed around and made a fuss about how he could have drowned, but it was a long time coming.

Insoo coughed up some water and Kenta wondered when he had had time to swallow any at all. The smell was bad enough so the taste must have been even worse, which made it all the more touching when Insoo cupped water between his hands and sucked it into his mouth before spitting it all over Eungi.

“Why are you screaming, Eungi? Aren’t you going to stare at me too?” Insoo shouted as he splashed Eungi with both of his hands.

At first Kenta thought Eungi was only raising his arms to shield himself, but he should have known better than that. There was an icy surge once more that made him gasp as he was knocked back and Insoo banged into him. Eungi was looming above Kenta and Insoo with narrowed eyes.

“Is this better, Hyung? Am I glaring at you enough?” Eungi asked.

Kenta supposed this was, in a very roundabout way, exactly what he had been hoping for all day. This was the closest he had physically been with Eungi and Insoo for a while. Kenta had missed how tactile they all were with one another and even with the cold seeping through his skin like this, Kenta felt as though he could lie back in the fountain and stay curled between them forever.

Eungi’s eyes boggled when Kenta reached his arm around his neck and pulled him down.

“What are you doing?”

“Are you still speaking rudely?” Insoo asked, squinting his eyes and throwing his arms around them and rolling the three of them so that Eungi was drenched even more. “What happened to your eyes. Where did that strong look go?”

Eungi was pouting at this point, and his gaze wasn’t soft but it was closer to petulance than defiance. He was cute. Their youngest was cute. Kenta loved him so much. He loved Insoo so much too. That must have been why Kenta very quickly pecked them both on the cheek. The two of them groaned but neither of them looked put out at all.

They didn’t stay in the fountain much longer after that. Woodam was positively having kittens as he fussed over the three of them with glistening eyes and patted them gently. Jaechan had kept apologising but it didn’t matter anymore. Kenta didn’t care. He had had his moment with Eungi and Insoo. It wasn’t really enough, but he had to make do with it when Insoo was indulgently leaning against Woodam and Jungjung was forlornly reaching out to Eungi.

Kenta expected Eungi to go quickly, because there was a time limit for Eungi and Jungjung to be separated. They both seemed too lost these days. But Eungi asked for a few extra moments and quietly extracted Insoo from Woodam. The smile he turned on Kenta after that winded him more than being plunged into the water.

“Kenta-hyung, are you crying?” Insoo asked loudly enough that the others were looking over to where the three of them had secluded themselves. It was hard to say whether Kenta was crying because he was more concerned about shivering so violently in the breeze under the shade. Insoo’s trembling hand came to Kenta’s cheek and his thumb swiped underneath Kenta’s eyes. “What are we going to do with you?”

“I have to leave now, Hyung,” Eungi said, catching Kenta’s tears on the other side of his face. Kenta thought Eungi and Insoo would be better off minding their own tears, but he appreciated the gesture from them. He gently brushed their hands away from his face and clutched at their fingers. Eungi took a shuddery breath before he smiled and said, “I only wanted to say that it feels good to know that you still want to play with me from time to time.”

“What are you talking about?” Kenta asked thickly.

“It feels like I was always chasing after Jungjung-hyung, and I took the both of you for granted for a long time,” Eungi sniffed. He swiped at his cheeks with the back of his free hand. “And then it seemed you were both distancing yourselves from me. I thought that neither of you would come today. I thought you didn’t want to be friends with me anymore because I had been so selfish until now.”

That wasn’t right. Kenta wasn’t ever going to want the friendship to stop. Eungi was as precious as ever to Kenta and he knew that Insoo felt the same way. But it gave Kenta pause. He had been feeling lonely because he felt as though he was being left behind, that he wasn’t ever the first priority, and not even considering that things were hard for others too.

Even Insoo who was staring wide-eyed. “Eungi, I’m sorry,” Insoo said. His voice trembled and he bit his lip against the sound. He shook his head and tried again. “I didn’t think you would get upset if we were late, Eungi. I hadn’t even told Kenta that the time was changed, so he didn’t even know. It was my fault.”

“Hyung,” Eungi whimpered. He sagged and Insoo caught him in a tight embrace with Kenta squashed between them. Insoo was whispering apologies over and over and Kenta wished he could do the same. His throat was tight and all he could do was press closer.

And then their time was up. They weren’t finished talking, but Jungjung had come over and the sound of his voice was enough for Eungi to spring away from Kenta and Insoo.

“Eungi, you’ll be late,” Jungjung said in a soft voice. Already Eungi’s hand was linked with Jungjung’s and the moment was broken. But the cracks that Kenta had been seeing before weren’t quite so fractured as he had thought. The lines were cleaner as Eungi stepped away, still shivering, and smiling slightly as he hesitated on a goodbye.

“Eungi,” Kenta said, his voice too high and tight. “Whenever you want, you can call me and we can do whatever you want.”

“Me too, me too!” Insoo said quickly.

Eungi smiled broadly, still quaking from the cold as Jungjung hugged him closely. “Kenta-hyung, Insoo-hyung, thank you so much. I will be calling you both whenever I have a spare moment. Even when you are busy I will keep calling you.”

Eungi and Jungjung’s goodbyes to the rest of the group were quick as Jungjung insisted on getting Eungi out of his wet clothes as soon as possible. He was right. Kenta’s teeth were chattering too much by now and his jaw ached from how tightly he was trying to stop the clacking of his mouth.

“We should go back to the others too,” Insoo said, already taking a step out of the shade and towards the group lounging in the sunlight.

“Not yet,” Kenta said. Insoo stopped and Kenta felt bad for keeping him in the cold, but he might as well say what he could now. “You too. Since Eungi started going out with Jungjung, don’t you think you have been getting further from me?”

Insoo shook his head slowly and wiped his nose on his wrist. Kenta mentally apologised. He was already responsible for Insoo’s chill. A few more moments wouldn’t make a difference. Insoo combed his fingers through his damp hair and brought his eyes up to Kenta’s.

“Hyung, these days I have been worrying about how close I am allowed to get to you,” Insoo said with a wry smile. 

“You worry about being close so you become distant?”

Any feigned amusement fell from Insoo’s face. “I don’t want to say too much now, but I am not doing it on purpose, Hyung.” He hesitated for a moment and, so quietly that Kenta wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, he said, “Kenta-hyung, you know I love you, don’t you.”

Kenta nodded quickly. “I love you too.”

Kenta couldn’t place Insoo’s next expression. He wasn’t exactly glum, but he didn’t look entirely happy with Kenta’s words. “I thought so,” he said.

Insoo stepped into the sun and rubbed his arms as he squelched over to the others. Kenta scurried after him, wincing at how his clothes pulled at his skin with their sodden weight. Nobody seemed surprised that Kenta and Insoo were going to leave first. Woodam sent them off with cheerful words that did warm Kenta slightly – probably would have been more effective if he wasn’t currently trembling from the cold.

They didn’t say anything as they walked away. They must have looked silly to the people who passed them on the street, hugging themselves pathetically and trembling. Kenta was glad that he wasn’t alone. He wasn’t looking forward to the bus ride home, but Insoo grasped at Kenta’s arm before he could walk in the direction of the bus stop.

“Hyung, please come to my house tonight,” Insoo said.

“Why?”

“I don’t mean anything strange by it,” Insoo said, withdrawing his hand and holding it close to his chest. “I think I might feel lonely tonight. I wish I could have invited Eungi too, but the two of us are good enough for now.”

Kenta wondered whether he was imagining Insoo’s kindness. He hoped that he wasn’t and Insoo was only inviting Kenta because he knew how pathetically Kenta was living, just waiting for a friend to remember him. He hoped that Insoo didn’t really mean his words, that he would be lonely.

He nodded and followed Insoo home, the both of them still dripping all the way.

 

*          *

 

Insoo was a much cuter person when he was shower-fresh and sleepy and lit by the foggy glow of the lamp on his bedside table. Unlike what Kenta had assumed, Insoo was gentle as he dried his hair while sitting cross-legged on his bed. Kenta was mostly surprised that he hadn’t roughly rubbed his hair with his towel and collapsed into his bed. The last time they had a sleepover, Insoo hadn’t bothered washing his hair, but upon seeing that Eungi had, he had aggressively scrubbed at Eungi’s head with the towel.

Kenta sat beside Insoo and started to dry his own hair.

“Don’t you have a,” Kenta paused and made a gesture indicative of drying his hair. Insoo grinned at him as he continued scrunching tiny sections of his hair in his towel.

“A hairdryer?” 

“Yeah,” Kenta agreed. He felt a bit silly because it wasn’t a word that he didn’t already know, but Insoo’s smile wasn’t unkind. “A hairdryer.”

“I have one, but I don’t want to use it. My parents are watching a film in the next room and it might disturb them.”

Kenta had forgotten about Insoo’s parents. Kenta lived alone so he never had to worry about things like disturbing his parents, only about the loneliness when things were too peaceful. He would get a pet if he thought he had enough time to look after one. Insoo had his parents around who could make sure to feed and walk the dogs and keep them company. Kenta might just have to borrow one of Insoo’s dogs – or Insoo – when he wanted a bit of companionship. 

“Hyung, do you want me to help you to dry your hair?” Insoo offered.

Kenta wondered what he had been feeling so down about in the first place. The distance must have been imagined. Or he was the one creating the distance. Kenta could dry his own hair and it was strange that Insoo would offer at all. But at least Insoo was making an effort. It was probably because he had thought about what Kenta tried to say and considered how to overcompensate for Kenta’s fragility.

Kenta shook his head and Insoo’s face was still for a moment before he said, “Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be sure?” Kenta asked as he rubbed at his hair quickly. Within a few seconds it was good enough. If his hair looked bad in the morning he could always borrow one of Insoo’s hats to wear home.

His reply came in the form of Insoo tackling Kenta onto the mattress. Insoo’s hands clamped over Kenta’s mouth and after a few seconds of Kenta being penned in, he lifted a finger to his mouth and shushed Kenta. He leaned down and in a hushed voice said, “Remember my parents.”

It wouldn’t have been so bad if Insoo hadn’t immediately pinched Kenta in the side.

Kenta made a mental note to apologise to Insoo’s parents for shrieking loudly enough to disturb them as they watched a film, and for also murdering their son. They would probably forgive Kenta for doing so as long as he showed remorse and they might even adopt him as a replacement son.

The plan to replace Insoo was mostly worked out by the time Insoo surrendered and flapped his hands ineffectually in the direction of Kenta’s feet after being kicked so much. Kenta filed the plan away for another time.

“Can I trust you not to do something like that again?” Kenta asked. He crawled under the covers and formed a cocoon.

“I’ll keep my hands to myself tonight,” Insoo said solemnly. It sounded like a ‘no’ to Kenta so he narrowed his eyes until Insoo shrugged pitifully enough that Kenta decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. If any unsanctioned tickling was detected, Kenta still had his plan to usurp Insoo.

Kenta rolled himself out of the cocoon and left enough room for Insoo to get into the bed too. “Buy me breakfast,” he said.

“ _Buy_ you breakfast?” Insoo asked incredulously. “Why can’t you just eat whatever my mum makes?”

“No, I don’t want your mum to buy me breakfast. You have to do it,” Kenta said obstinately.

Insoo sighed and jabbed Kenta’s ribs with a finger. It wasn’t quite a tickle. Kenta mentally gave him a yellow card for that and anything further would be swiftly dealt with.

“My mum’s cooking is really good,” Insoo grumbled.

“Buy me lunch, then,” Kenta allowed. Insoo huffed under his breath but he wasn’t saying anything loud enough for it to count as arguing back, so Kenta said, “Don’t forget to turn off the light.”

Insoo huffed a bit more but he was quick about switching off the light. He was a sold warmth against Kenta’s back as his breathing slowed. He must have been extremely tired to drop off right away. His quiet snores were oddly reassuring for Kenta as he eventually drifted off, with thoughts of what he would make Insoo buy him for lunch the next day.

**Author's Note:**

> The whole reason i wrote this? because my friends forced me to watch Wonder Woman and it was really good.


End file.
